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[quirkyfantakes]

This is a very cynical Gen X-er, pragmatists' view on the future of Bridgerton:

I think they pushed up Penelope's story, and will probably push up Eloise's story, because the actresses who were cast for Pen and Eloise were like 15 years older than their characters, which was okay when Bridgerton started filming in 2019 but becomes more problematic the more years go by (particularly if the romance story calls for the female main character to be an ingenue).

Claudia Jessie looked 16 4 years ago, but she looks way older than 20 now, but they are not going to recast her for a younger person (because she is GREAT)... so that clock is kind of ticking on her getting a young first love story.

And sure, Benedict/Luke Thompson ALSO faces this weird aging-in-two-timelines dichotomy (I think he's like 26 on the show but nearing 40 IRL), but it will be okay to have a 40-year-old male main character in Bridgerton, because of patriarchy and sexism.

Hence: my prediction is that Eloise is the lead for Season 4 in 2026, and that they keep Benedict in reserve for a Season 5 renewal (which still hasn't been publicized as actually happening) in 2028.

And since we're talking about wild speculations in the distant future anyway: I also predict that Francesca's story with John is a happily-for-now ending, UNLESS the renewal for seasons 4-6 happens, in which case she becomes the focus of Season 6.

And while Gregory's story is probably the best technically crafted Bridgerton book of them all... I wouldn't be surprised if they just decided to end the TV project before Hyacinth and Gregory's stories. They have been little kids for too long in this universe, and I just don't know if the Shondaland people can keep this highly-expensive, highly-bandwidth-intensive universe going for 16 years. Particularly because people like Jon Bailey, Phoebe Dynevor, and Nicola Coughlan are going to be EXPENSIVE to bring even on an occasional basis (and sadly, I don't think they're all going to be together again).

[quirkyfantakes]

Observations about observations about chemistry

There are at least two categories of people who opine on TV ship chemistries:

Category 1 people:

Say: "[X] and [Y] [have/do not have] chemistry.

Mean: "I [am/am not] personally attracted to [X] and/or [Y], [I am very very horny for them/how very DARE you believe these people would fuck each other]."

Category 2 people:

Say: " [X] and [Y] [have/do not have] chemistry

Mean: "[X] and [Y] [have/do not have] chemistry, and it has everything to do with the relationship and interactions between [X] and [Y], and actually nothing to do with my own personal feelings of fuckability of one or the other of them."

So let me bring this back to Polin.

Context: I think Nicola Coughlan is an amazingly talented actress, who is going to be on my radar for a long time because of her beauty, range, and charisma. I think Luke Newton is a competent actor who as a nice, soft-spoken, charming person in real life lucked into the role of a lifetime as nice, soft-spoken, charming Colin Bridgerton. I like both of them a ton, have had fun watching them do S3 media just like everyone else -- but I have ZERO feelings of attraction to either of them as actors or to the characters they play. (No shade to either of them, but I am an old, but also, I think I'm demisexual? Like, I cannot conceive of being physically attracted to someone I don't know as an actual human being.)

That said: I think these two are absolutely drenched (ew, but also, pun totally intended) in the most basic and animalistic of hormonal chemistry. And while I may not be attracted to either of them as individuals, it is a fucking pleasure to watch the two of them together, because they have convinced me over 2 and a half seasons of this show that they are absolutely horny for each other's time, attention, bodies, and giggles, EVERYTHING.

If you are a category 1 person, I actually kind of feel sorry for you, because it seems to me that you are kind of trapped by your own hormones, and there are probably a lot of love stories out there that you simply cannot enjoy. (Um, unless if you are a category 1 person who is attracted to everyone/a lot of different aesthetic types, in which case I think I am jealous of you, and maybe also exhausted by the idea of you?)

But I think it's safe to say that most of us Category 2 people have been very, VERY satisfied by Polin this season. Pun absolutely intended.

[quirkyfantakes]

Thinking about how pretty these pretty people are in the bathtub today.

Also, they really didn't skimp on the copper bathtub budget did they? I feel like they totally could have gotten away with House Bridgerton and House Danbury having the same bathtub supplier.

[quirkyfantakes]

Charithra Chandran AU

Disclaimer: I love Kanthony, which means I of course love Jonny Bailey and Simone Ashley and Anthony and Kate and Anthony and Kate together.

AND I ALSO love Charithra Chandran, who seems to be getting a lot of hate from some corners of my Kanthony tribe, which makes me SO SAD.

So in an effort to counteract some of the negative, I’m going to share something that delighted me today when I randomly discovered it:

Charithra’s LinkedIn profile!

I’ve read a bit about how Charithra stepped away from her type-A, Oxbridge-educated management consulting career track to give acting a try for a couple of years. It’s so funny to me to see this version of Charithra on LinkedIn who is the opposite of a creative, who has a very vanilla business profile on the most vanilla social networking site. 

Her LinkedIn profile shows her having a number of part-time jobs and volunteer gigs for much of 2020 and 2021. How strange it must have been to have Bridgerton land on her lap last year, and completely upend this vanilla-business version of her life.

As a fellow South Asian lady who did NOT have the courage to break away from parental expectations around having a ���sensible” career -- I am just completely tickled pink by this.

[quirkyfantakes]

Kanthony wish list for S3+

The Kanthony that I want to see in Season 3 and beyond.

I want both of them to stay the same: like Violet notes, "sharp, quick, a little TOO exacting." The reason the epilogue is so great is because there is a healthy dose of tartness with the sweet, sweet, sweet.  Do NOT break this formula.

NO BABIES in their first year of marriage. They didn't get ANY sort of proper courtship, and we MUST see more of them just as a duo before introducing kids into the mix.  I am actively jealous of all of the friendship building Daphne and Simon got in S1 pre-marriage AND the personal-garbage-excavation they got post-marriage, too. I want ALL of that for future Kate and Anthony.

If they don't do a DEEP dive into unraveling the Dowager Viscountess-Kate-Anthony dynamic, I will be FULLY disappointed. We the viewers have borne witness for TWO YEARS into the dysfunctional quasi-parental, quasi-CO-parental dynamic that Violet and Anthony have sunk into over the ten years since Edmund died. Maybe if Anthony had wedded Edwina, Violet’s day-to-day wouldn’t have changed that much after all, but do we really expect our KATE SHARMA to enter this family and not fully make her mark on it?  

I want to see Anthony, Edwina, and Mary figure out what their long-term relationships are going to be with each other. What kind of mother-in-law is Mary going to be, and will she earn her place as Kanthony Baby #4′s namesake? How are Edwina and Anthony going to deal with each other in the future?  He treated her really kind of crappily -- will THEY ever have a reckoning with each other?

Don't get me wrong, I want smooshy-whooshy loved up Kanthony TOO, if only to get more gifs to illustrate my unhinged speculation posts.

But S2 was the story of unique, soul-forming lust breaking down the walls that Kate and Anthony had put up. I want to see what's BEHIND those walls now, darn it.

[quirkyfantakes]

Can't stop thinking about a specific Kanthony kiss.

NOT their first kiss, at the end of episode 6 "The Choice," where Kate is the one who breaks down the walls to step into Anthony's kiss...

But this one, Kate's hazily-lit daydream at the beginning of episode 7 "Harmony," where Anthony is the one who leans in, not Kate.

I have seen some speculation that this second kiss may be an actual memory of an event that happened after the episode 6 fade to black with Kate and Anthony holding hands.

But the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this second kiss didn't actually happen -- it is instead a fantasy representing both Kate's longing and her fundamental disappointment that Anthony doesn't love her.

Reminders of the story at this point:

Anthony has spent three episodes whispering how much he lusts for Kate, getting millimeters close to a kiss -- but always toeing some line that he believes allows him to maintain his "gentleman" status.

Every time he references his lust to Kate, it is with resentment and anger. He makes it very clear that he doesn't WANT to want her.

In ep5, he goes so far as to BLAME HER for his being so close to losing his honor by being so attracted to her.

And at the end of ep6 -- she runs to him to kiss him. His reaction, initially, is surprise, as evidenced by the microseconds of flailing hands before he grabs her back.

So, at the beginning of episode 7, while Kate is dozing in bed, I believe two things:

Kate knows that she is in love with Anthony.

Kate also knows (or thinks she knows) that he doesn't love her. At best, he wants to bang her.

Kate's daydreaming here is her fantasizing that Anthony has deeper affection for her. It is not a memory of kisses that happened, but rather what she wishes in her heart -- that Anthony would pursue HER, court HER, want HER, and not just her body.

She believes this all throughout episode 7, even during the gazebo scene, where he AGAIN reiterates that whatever he feels for her is unwanted and forbidden.

And so she fantasizes about a gentler, loving Anthony who adores her enough to kiss HER.

Gah.

Look, these two dummies got their happy ending, and I guess I'm ready for happy Kanthony for season 3. But this jerk put Kate through HELL because of his emotional unintelligence, and if we don't get SOME major AnthonyGrovel next year, I WILL write sternly worded letters to Shondaland.

[quirkyfantakes]

Insane Bridgerton speculations which I spend an inordinate time fantasizing about:

Thomas Dorset, a mere Mister now, is the cousin of John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin and therefore the future Earl of Kilmartin. (This man is TOO HOT to not be a long-term denizen of the Bridgerverse.)

Genevieve Delacroix is Sophie Beckett in disguise.

Sir Philip Crane is ACTUALLY going to end up with Eloise, but there will be NEGATIVE forecasting of it until the moment E ends up at his door, so all of us are still going to be surprised. And just like in the book, he is going to be STEALTH HORNDOG, and that season will actually blow S1 out the water.

They are going to introduce the one memorable gay character from the Bridgerton books, Lord Haselby, in the next season or two, and flesh out a true proper queer romance plotline for him. Oh, that would actually be lovely.

[quirkyfantakes]

Benophie people, this post is not for you

I am working on a post with my Benedict love story speculations, which must be why my brain was in the insane headspace to make this observation about a silly Instagram story from the OFFICIAL Bridgerton Insta:

Sophie is NOT on this list, but both Genevieve and Henry ARE.

Source: https://instagram.com/stories/bridgertonnetflix/2841016820774713508

Also noting for posterity:

Both Theo and Philip are on this list

Lucy is here (but no Hermione)

No John OR Michael? Hmmm....

THOMAS! (Also coming up: my cockamamie speculation post about how our India-traveling Mr. Dorset may be the TV-show’s India-traveling Earl of Kilmartin)

And final thought: 

If any Bridgerton names their baby Siena, I am going to boycott this show forever and ever, even if that means I NEVER WATCH ANOTHER KANTHONY SCENE AGAIN. (The fanedits are better, anyway.)

[quirkyfantakes]

In the books, Colin enlists the most powerful leaders of the ton in his family -- the Viscount Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings -- to rally around Penelope and shelter her from the worst of society's approbation, all at a grand ball where he ALSO makes a big romantic proclamation of his own love and adoration for Penelope. 

With the Duke not really being a part of the series anymore -- I think it is going to be Anthony, with Kate by his side, who is going to step into their power in Season 3 to stand up for Penelope (and Colin).

I haven’t read the books, not that I think it really matters for the TVs series now haha, but do you expect Anthony to be part of Colin’s story? Which siblings are Kanthony closest to??

Well, in the books (that I've read a long time ago, so i don't remember all the stuff, sorry), Kate and Anthony appear in all the stories, sometimes only him or her, but the book they are more prominent is Gregory's one. There are a lot of mentions of them there, also Kate has a special bond with Gregory in the books (he names his first child after her), and Gregory totally considers Anthony to be his father figure.

Show wise, I don't know, anon. Anthony seems close to Daphne, Hyacinth, Gregory and even Benedict. In s2 they have put grounds for a Kate/Eloise bond, that probably will continue in s3. Colin and Anthony seem to have a conflict relationship between them most of the times, but I also think they do care about each other, and well Luke said that Colin totally considers Anthony a father figure, so at the end of the day I feel he wants his approval and gets disappointed everytime he doesn't recieve it (with Marina in s1, with the investment in s2). And I think it's possible we are going to see this kind of conflict even in s3, because since this is Shondaland and they love drama, I'm pretty sure the Bridgertons (or at least Colin and Anthony/Kate) are going to find out about Penelope being Lady W. and i can't see Anthony taking it well at first after what she did to Eloise (and it will also depend on what she's going to write about the new Viscountess too in s3). To be fair I don't think even Colin will take it well at first, because of the whole Marina's thing, and of course Eloise too.

[quirkyfantakes]

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A post shared by Julia Quinn (@juliaquinnauthor)

Big news today from the Shondaland and Netflix crew about Season 3: Penelope and Colin are going to be the focus of next season's love story!

One of the things I LOVE about this franchise is just how much love all of the creators have for the characters. I hope you all click through to this instagram post by Julia Quinn (dated February 7, 2022). It is a love letter to Penelope, Nicola, and all the fans who love them both.

[quirkyfantakes]

I follow Sam Frenchum, the actor who plays Mr. Dorset, on Instagram, and basically all his posts are reels of him and his teeny tiny baby. It is adorable, and he and his little family deserve the whole world.

All of that to say: If they don't bring him back to Bridgerton at some point, I am going to cry.

Mr. Dorset was a perfect foil for Viscount Bridgerton: his interest in the Sharmas' life in India was genuine and real; he apologized SO SWEETLY for his role in the whole races debacle; and most importantly, he gave Kate her one true courting experience of the season.

It's too bad that Kate has a thing for sexy assholes, not cinnamon rolls. But surely there is a B- or C-plot Regency lady who is Mr. Dorset's perfect match? I would be delighted to see that subplot.

[quirkyfantakes]

I am a long-time Regency/historical romance reader, and have been waiting for literally my whole life for TV/Hollywood to adapt this genre that has brought me so much happiness for the small and big screen.

And then came Bridgerton.

All hail the Shondaland crew for figuring out how to make TV romance elicit all the big romance novel feelings that keep the die hards engaged in this genre!

And not only that, but also IMPROVING on the genre. Of course we romance readers love our tropes and formulas, but there are plenty of romance story conventions that I despise.

Here are three romance novel tropes/conventions that Bridgerton S2 and #Kanthony exploded, for the good of all humanity:

1 - Hero is tanned/darker, heroine is fairer/paler.

Is it because darker skin is connected to outdoor work/manual labor/sun exposure, and fair skin connotes the opposite? But there is a REAL THING in many romance novels about romanticizing the contrast between the hero's darker skin with the heroine's, particularly when they clasp hands or other body parts. As a dark skinned person who is partnered with a white man, I HATE this romanticization of skin color difference in this direction, and it makes me so happy that the Kanthony aesthetic is in the complete opposite direction.

2 - Hero is tall brawny big guy, heroine is petite/pocket sized

I LOVE that Anthony and Kate are so close in height to each other, that they are literally AND figuratively equal in stature, and that they can (to paraphrase Anthony in the Featherington garden in episode 8) "see eye to eye" so easily with each other.

And, yes yes yes -- Jonny Bailey is BUILT, and Simone Ashley is quite lissome, so the subversion of body typing is not quite 100%. But I have full confidence that the artists of Shondaland are going to continue to do us right with #Polin.

3 - Virginal heroine lacks gumption/knowledge/wherewithal to initiate the first kiss.

Kanthony longed and longed and LONGED for each other, but when that first kiss finally happened in episode 6, it wasn't capital-S sex-hound Anthony who gave in to his yearnings -- but the eternally buttoned-up KATE who took the first step.

It is actually quite subversive for the 26-year-old spinster to be so confident in Regencies; I am so much more used to the rake/libertine needing to "teach" the lady how to take control of her sexual agency. And indeed, in episode 5, Anthony SAYS OUT LOUD that he dreams of "the things he could teach [her]."

But in reality: the man just teased and teased and TEASED, from bee sting scene to Aubrey Hall study scene to Lady Danbury's sitting room scene. This guy was NEVER going to take the leap to actual physical contact -- it took the "inexperienced" spinster to finally cross that bridge. And thank goodness she finally did.

[quirkyfantakes]

Just saw this interview with Simone Ashley on Ellen, and... how did the fan community not pick up on her being a CLASSICALLY TRAINED SINGER?

I quite desire the following fanfics and/or S3 or S4 scenes, please:

1) Kate Bridgerton BLOWING THE VISCOUNT'S MIND (and his pants OFF) by showcasing her beautiful, "classically trained" singing voice. Sienna Who?

2) A Bridgerton family musicale, a la "Catch and Toast" in S1. Maybe a Colin and Kate duet?

[quirkyfantakes]

So hard to be sure with those empire waists, but... raise your hand if you think the S2 epilogue had a little Easter egg for us book nerds who know that Daphne is supposed to be pregnant with Baby Bassett #2 just about now!

[quirkyfantakes]

S3 speculation:

I think there is going to HAVE to be a substantial time jump between S2 and S3, if we are to see a credible HEA for any of the potential characters by the season's end.

* Colin is only 21 in S2. And he clearly has a lot of growing up to do, to even set him up for the beauty that is polin.

* Benedict I think is narratively on track to have some kind of SUD (the drugs! the drinking!), and he's going to need time to sink into the depths before he can rise triumphant

* Eloise is 18 in S2, and it would be a discredit to her character for her to all of a sudden be okay with marriage at the age of 19.

* Assuming we follow even broad book plot outlines, Francesca is certainly going to be married in S3, but I don't see us devoting time to seeing her coming out/engagement/first marriage, so that could all happen in the time jump as well.

If there is a time jump, there are some narrative consequences:

* We won't see Kate and Anthony in their true honeymoon period. Which, yeah, might suck! But I'm actually really excited to see Kate well on her journey to being a society doyenne (probably my favorite part of Gregory's book).

* Eloise and Pen's break is going to be... hard. HARD. I don't think the writers would have them reconcile during the time jump off screen, which means that they will have stayed estranged for years. Oof, but that might make for an AMAZING emotional payoff in S3 when they do reconcile.

NOTE: I actually think the time jump will happen, agnostic of who ever the main couple(s) are in the next season. So I've tried to stay agnostic of that in this speculation.

[quirkyfantakes]

Hi! I just joined Tumblr because I am OBSESSED with S2 Bridgerton, and am yearning to talk about this show with others! Also, I have been reading and rereading the novels as they were originally published in the 2000s, so even though I am new to fanDOM, I am in fact a long time fan of the stories.

I have gotten chastised for tagging an opinion about Show Colin/Penelope chemistry with the #polin tag, but my honest question is: why? I've been lurking for a while (and I'm an active twitterer in non-fandom communities), so I am a little caught off guard and would love some tagging etiquette guidance.

[quirkyfantakes]

Great explanation of a puzzling non-sequitar.

GIF by carisi-rollins

In the next scene between them, after Anthony grills Kate on all the details about her leaving to India, he follows their discussion with what seems like a complete non sequitur, accusing her of doing anything to keep him from marrying Edwina. What does Kate leaving to India have to do with her interfering with his courtship of her sister?

But after thinking on it, I think it’s a result of Anthony’s malfunctioning brain being too honest with Kate. Her news has sent him into a tailspin and he is now glitching. He has already realized he can’t live without Kate, so now when she says she will leave once her sister marries, in his mind, she has basically threatened him not to marry her sister or he will lose Kate. That perceived threat is the anything that he thinks she is willing to do.

Of course logically it makes no sense, but unhinged Anthony is unhinged.